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Viveka Terms Jagan CBI Raids as Conspiracy

Former AP agricultural minister and brother of late YSR Reddy, YS Vivekananda Reddy on Friday criticised that some Congress leaders are trying to tarnish the image of YSR Reddy and also termed the CBI inquiry against Jaganmohan Reddy as "conspiracy". Vivekananda Reddy came on foot from China Rangapuram to pay homage to YSR Reddy on his second death anniversary at YSR Ghat at Idupulapaya Estate. Talking to media afterwards, he said that he wants to find out whether the "conspiracy against YSR family is plotted by Congress high command or by the state." Speaking about the CBI raids on Jagan companies, Vivekananda Reddy said "A Congress leader files a petition in the court. Court orders CBI inquiry, which is being conducted by a team headed by a corrupt and biased officer. After seeing all these dramatical incidents, people feel that it is all false," he said. "I feel that all these tricks are being played by a section of Congress leaders to tarnish the image of YSR. If this is the case, there is no need for me to continue in Congress," he added. He also said that a group of about 80 MLAs, who were loyal to YSR, will go to Delhi to appraise to party high command about the happenings in the state politics.      

President Pratibha Patil's Visit to Hyderbad

President Pratibha Devisingh Patil will inaugurate the 71st World Congress of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences-2011 at Hyderabad on September 4. The President is scheduled to visit Hyderabad on September 3 after completion of her three-day tour in Kerala. After night stay in the capital, next day, she will participate in the World Medical Conference to be held at International Convention Centre (HICC) in the city. About 2,000 pharmacists from dozens of countries will converge in Hyderabad for the six-day Global medical event beginning from September 4.      

VHR Lambasts PCC For Harping on YSR Legacy

Senior Rajya Sabha MP V Hanumantha Rao lambasted the state Congress unit for still harping on YSR legacy. A staunch loyalist of the Gandhi-Nehru family, VHR, said he does not subscribe to the view that Y S Rajasekhara Reddy was the lone factor that led to the Congress' victory in 2004 and 2009. Rao said, though YSR was one of the factors that led to the party's victory in the state in 2004 and 2009 but the "main factors" were the programmes implemented by the Congress Government and the image of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. "YSR did not do it alone. He had the support of the party and the Centre. That is, why he was able to implement the projects. He had the full support of the Congress President. He is not the only factor," he said. VHR also dismissed suggestions that the Congress was targeting late YSR's son Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, who has now launched his own outfit, saying the CBI has registered a case against him on the orders of the Andhra Pradesh High Court. Rao suggested that the Congress MLAs in the state should be asked, whether the party should continue to claim the legacy of late YSR. "In 2014 elections, we should go to the people and ask votes in the name of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. We have to do that," he said.    

Govt Targeting Anna Hazare Team Members

After Kiran Bedi was slapped with a privilege notice and Arvind Kejriwal got an I-T notice on Friday, another Team Anna member Prashant Bhushan got a breach of privilege notice today. Prashant Bhushan has been slapped with the breach of privilege notice for alleging that MPs take bribes to pass laws. Bhushan on Saturday said he has received a breach of privilege notice for his remarks against Parliamentarians, the second Team Anna member to get such a notice. Bhushan said he has been accused of using derogatory words against MPs and has been asked to file a reply by September 14. Terming the notice as "totally unjustified", he said that "speaking the truth in public interest does not amount to breach of privilege. If speaking truth in public interest amounts to breach of privilege, then time has come for the country to review the whole notion of Parliamentary privileges," he said. Earlier, former IPS officer Kiran Bedi had received breach of privilege notice for her remarks against Parliamentarians. Bedi had said that she will not "apologise" for her remarks against politicians, but intends to show a "bigger mirror" to the House on the conduct of lawmakers. She said whatever she had said was in reference to a situation, where it was needed to be said. "The truth has to be said. I didn't have any other option as we didn't know whether we would have a resolution," she said. The privilege notice against Bedi came as she accused politicians of wearing "several masks" at the same time, drawing the ire of MPs from both Houses.

10 Infants Die at Kurnool General Hospital

10 babies have died within 48 hours inside the neonatal intensive care unit of Kurnool's General Hospital. The deaths occurred on Wednesday and Thursday. The reason - the hospital was simply not equipped to deal with the rush of low-birthweight babies who needed critical care. There were 20 beds whereas the demand was for over 30. Only two ventilators were functioning. Two more have been under repair. The parents allege the babies died due to lack of oxygen supply from the ventilators. They also allege that the problem was brought to notice of hospital authorities but no action was taken. Some parents of the children have alleged that the hospital gave over the care of the infants to them, which led to the tragedy. The hospital authorities on the other hand, insist that they were not negligent. They said the deaths occurred due to complications that usually arise in premature babies. Government officials added that they did not have the facilities to cater to so many children. According to Ramshankar Naik, Collector, Kurnool, "This is the first hospital in the Rayalaseema region, so we get patients from some four to five districts, whereas the hospital has only 20 beds. We cannot turn away the patients though we do not have enough infrastructure to cater to them. We are bringing it to the notice of the government to increase the facilities here. As for this incident, we have ordered an inquiry." Contrary to whatever the collector and the hospital authorities might say in their defense, the government is not buying it. D L Ravindra Reddy, the Health Minister of Andhra Pradesh said, "The collector in his report also said those in supervisory role at the hospital were practising privately in family-owned hospitals.'' This the minister said, led to negligence of duty for which suitable action would be taken.  

Tributes Paid to YSR on Second Death Anniversary

The Congress government kept it low key but family and followers turned out in full force Friday to pay rich tributes to the late Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy on his second death anniversary. His wife Vijayalakshmi, son Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, daughter Sharmila and other family members paid tributes at his grave in Idupulapaya in Kadapa district. A large number of followers of YSR Congress party chief and Kadapa MP Jaganmohan Reddy also reached the memorial from different parts of the state to pay tribute. YSR, as the late chief minister was popularly known, was killed in a helicopter crash on this day in 2009. The government helicopter carrying him from Hyderabad to Chittoor district crashed in bad weather in Kurnool district on Sep 2. Four others, including two pilots, also died with him. Some Congress legislators loyal to Jagan also paid tributes to YSR at Idupulapaya. As many as 29 legislators, including 26 belonging  to the Congress party, submitted their resignations to the assembly speaker on Aug 22 to protest mentioning of YSR's name in the FIR by CBI. They  also alleged that the Congress is targeting Jagan for leaving the party and floating the YSR Congress. The controversies surrounding YSR and the allegations against him put the Congress government in a dilemma whether to own his legacy or dump it. Unlike last year, the government has kept his death anniversary a low-key affair. State Congress chief Botsa Satyanarayana, YSR's close aide and Rajya Sabha member K.V.P. Ramchandra Rao and some other leaders of the ruling party paid tributes to the late chief minister. They garlanded his statue at Banjara Hills in Hyderabad Friday morning. Ramchandra Rao said YSR's death was an irreparable loss to the state and the country. "By launching several welfare schemes for the poor and the downtrodden, he had become a god for them," he said.

TJAC to Revive Agitation From 6 September

Speaking to the media, Telangana Joint Action committee (TJAC) convenor prof. M Kodandaram said that the Telangana agitation will be intensified from September 6. He told that rallies will be organized in all the Telangana assembly constinutencies on September 6 and resignation will be demanded from elected public representatives. He told that those MLAs who have ignored resignation demand of Telangana JAC would be gheroaed. On September 7 public campaign will be launched regarding boycotting anti Telangana political leaders. Rallies will be held at all universities of Telangana on September 8. Telangana Garjana will be organized by Telangana Rashtra Samithi at Kareemnagar on September 12. He told that a 3-day Telangana film industries will be observed from 9 to 11 September during which all theatres and film activities will be stopped.

Padmanabhaswamy Temple: SC Questions Devaprasnam

The Supreme Court on Friday expressed surprise over the fact that the decision to open the vaults of the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram was taken by the head priest. The decision should have been taken by the Supreme Court-appointed expert committee instead, the court said. The apex court was hearing the plea filed by the Travancore royal family, based on the findings of the Devaprasnam (an astrological examination) that the treasures of the temple should not be photographed or videographed. It also stated that the Cobra vault should not be opened as this amounts to interfering with traditional practices of the people and the temple. The SC was hearing the plea filed by the Travancore royal family, based on the findings of the Devaprasnam. Earlier astrologers in Kerala said that god did not want the treasure found at the temple to be taken out of the premises in Thiruvananthapuram. They claimed that the treasures discovered at the temple must not be moved, or the wrath of the gods will be unleashed. This was decided at the four-day Devaprasnam - a ritual conducted to ascertain the will of god. However the court adjourned the matter to September 6.

SC Dismisses Plea Against Anna Arrest

The Supreme Court dismissed a plea filed against social activist Anna Hazare's arrest on 16 August just before he was to embark upon an indefinite fast against corruption. The court today declined to entertain a PIL against the arrest of Anna Hazare by the Delhi Police. A bench of Justices P Sathasivam and B S Chauhan said it would not be proper for the court to entertain the PIL, when none of the aggrieved persons were before the court. The bench also said that it may not be proper for it to issue any notice to the government, as the issue preceding the arrest has been amicably resolved. It however clarified that as and when Hazare or other members of his team want to move the court they would be at liberty to approach it, and accordingly, the bench kept the question of law open on the issue. The court however also told the PIL petitioner Bhim Singh that if any of the affected persons (either Anna or his associate who had been arrested) come to court then the issue would be considered. The petitioner had argued that the arrest of Anna and his associates was illegal and was against their fundamental rights. However, the apex court was not convinced with Singh's argument that the arrest involved not only the violation of fundamental rights of the protesters but encompassed a larger issue of violation of the Article 21 (Right to Life and Liberty). The bench pointed out that since the issue of Article 21 and CrPC provision 151 (arrest to prevent the commission of cognizable offences) and 107 (security for keeping the peace in other cases) have been elaborately dealt by the apex court, there was no need to examine the issue afresh. The court said, "Several statements have been made by the police and by some ministers. They have explained their position. Our judgment on preventive custody is already there. We leave aside the question of law." The court thus dismissed the petition.

Jana Reddy Sets a Ministerial Record

So far after the formation of Andhra Pradesh, Kasu Bramananda Reddy held the longest term as a minister. He was in office for 14 years 11 months as the CM and a minister. Now Panchayati Raj Minister K Jana Reddy will soon be completing 14 years as minister. He has already surpassed former chief minister K Rosaiah's record of 13 years and six months. Mr Jana Reddy was the panchayat samiti president for some time in 1981, before joining the TD in 1982. He became a minister for first time in 1983. He continued as a minister till 1989. Later, he joined the Congress. He was a minister in the Vijayabhaskar Reddy regime. He was a minister again in the YSR regime. Currently, Mr Jana Reedy is a minister in the Kiran Kumar Reddy Cabinet. Mr Jana Reddy said it is an honour to serve the state for a record number of years surpassing several senior politicians like Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy, Jalagam Vengal Rao, Marri Chenna Reddy and Kotla Vijyabhaskar Reddy. "If I can continue for 11 months, I will surpass Brahmananda Reddy’s record too," he said.

Loyal Viveka May Return as MLC

Loyalty pays! Of course, more so when the party is in straits. The former agricultural minister, Mr Y.S. Vivekananda Reddy, has got a chance to re-enter the legislative council following the appointment of the former MLC, Mr K. Rosaiah, as the Tamil Nadu Governor. Mr Vivekananda Reddy has been unwaveringly loyal to the Congress high command even after he was defeated by his sister-inlaw and YSR Congress honorary president, Ms Y.S. Vijayamma, in the Pulivendula Assembly byelection. Mr Vivekananda Reddy resigned from his post as agriculture minister as his MLC tenure had expired and had contested in the Pulivendula bypoll.

Botsa, Chiranjeevi Team up For Zonal Meetings

PCC chief Botsa Satyanarayana and new-arrival into Congress, Chiranjeevi, are reported to hold zonal meetings in Ananthapur, Kurnool, Visakhapatnam and Guntur to strengthen the party. Mr Satyanarayana admitted that the Congress was having some coordination problems in the districts and hoped that they would be overcome these soon. He announced that starting from September 18, he and Mr Chiranjeevi would jointly undertake district tours and conduct zonal meetings. The PCC president on Thursday criticised the YSR Congress leaders for repeatedly claiming that all Congress MLAs had won elections due to YSR's image and his portrait. "Let us not belittle the contribution of a great leader like Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy, if you (YSR Congress) say that 155 MLAs won because of his photo, it was also a fact that the same number of party candidates lost because of that. So let us not go into these aspects," he said. Mr Satyanarayana also said that several Congress leaders had won the polls due to the Sonia Gandhi factor and her photo. He added that the Congress had come to power a number of times in the past without mentioning YSR or showing his photo. "We should not forget the facts or distort them," he said. Meanwhile, Mr Chiranjeevi, after performing Ganesh Puja at the former headquarters of the erstwhile Praja Rajyam confirmed that he along with the PCC chief are going to conduct zonalk meetings in several districts together. He also said that wisdom would prevail on the 26 MLAs who had resigned and that they would return to the party fold.

Kejriwal Episode: Hegde Says Govt Seems Vindictive

Five years after relinquishing his job, Anna Hazare's aide Arvind Kejriwal was slapped a notice by the Income Tax department last month. The Income-Tax department demanded the Magsaysay Award winner to pay dues of more than Rs 9 lakh. The notice was served a week before Anna Hazare kicked off his anti-corruption crusade on August 16 at Ramlila Maidan. Incidentally, officially, Kejriwal is still an IRS employee as the department has not accepted his resignation tendered in 2006. The I-T department maintains that Kejriwal violated bond conditions and his resignation, will be accepted only once the dues are cleared. Team Anna member Justice Santosh Hegde says the timing seems vindictive. "At a time when he has done so much in the movement of Anna Hazare. The government seems to be taking vindictive steps, it looks to me at the first sight. I think people at large will misundersatnd this. Five yrs back he left his job, he signed a bond and now when amidst all these happenings, they slap him this amount and say come and pay within a week, looks vindictive to me," said Justice Hegde. Replying to the question whether the government will harass every member of Team Hazare, former Karnataka Lokayukta and Anna Team member justice Santhosh Hegde said "I don't know, may be so. Such attempts have been going on for a long time, either to denigrate them or to harass them in one way or the other."

Sonia Coming Back in The First Week Of September

UPA chairperson Mrs. Sonia Gandhi, having recuperated after a surgery in the United States is likely to come back in the first week of September. Her son and party general secretary Rahul Gandhi has left for the US to accompany her back. After her coming back, it would take another month or so to take charge of the Party, said the sources. An indication that she was recovering came when both Rahul and Priyanka were in Delhi together last week. Priyanka was in the special visitors' gallery when Rahul spoke in the Lok Sabha on the Jan Lokpal Bill. The four-member committee Sonia set up in her absence - Rahul, A K Antony, Ahmed Patel and Janardan Dwivedi - did hold a couple of meetings last fortnight. Its agenda: the Anna Hazare issue and selection of candidates for the UP Assembly elections, sources said. Rahul kept Sonia updated on the Anna crisis over the telephone.  

Lokpal Bill: Standing Committee may be Reconstituted

The Parliamentary Standing Committee looking in to the Lokpal Bill is due for reconstitution as terms of all parliamentary standing committees are to come to an end today on 31-08-2011. The reconstitution of standing committees assumes significance in the light of unhappiness in Team Anna's camp regarding some panel members like Manish Tiwari and Lalu Prasad Yadav. However, it is not yet clear whether any of the members would be dropped or House Panels to be continued further as they are. According to some media reports, Congress MP Abhishek Singhvi is likely to continue as chairman of the standing committee on law and justice. Continuation of Congress spokesman Manish Tiwari and former Samajwadi leader Amar Singh in the panel is doubtful, say the sources.  

ACB Chief's Name Surfaced in Forgery Case

State ACB chief Mr. Umesh Kumar's name has surfaced in a forgery case that was designed to indict the DGP Mr. Dinesh Kumar Reddy. A case of foregery was filed against T Sunil Reddy, Sri City SEZ consultant and former journalist for fabricating a letter in the name of Rajya Sabha member M A Khan with an intention to stymie the chances of Dinesh Reddy's appointment as DGP. It was earlier reported in a section of the media that Sunil had confessed to have obtained the certified copies of registered sale deeds of properties belonging to the director-general of police, Mr V. Dinesh Reddy, at the instance of Mr Umesh Kumar and had handed over the same to a person sent by the latter. The director-general of the Anti-Corruption Bureau, Mr Umesh Kumar, on Monday called on the Chief Minister, Mr N. Kiran Kumar Reddy. The meeting assumes significance in the backdrop of his name being surfaced in the case. Though the ACB top cop is tight-lipped about the meeting, sources told that he feigned ignorance about the activities of Sunil and explained to the Chief Minister that his name was not mentioned in the remand case diary. Sources said the Chief Minister was briefed by the senior police official about the rivalry among the top cops. Mr Umesh Kumar also sought to project that the case was to settle old scores, sources added. Mr Umesh Kumar was in race for the DGP post twice. While, the government preferred Mr K. Aravind Rao over him the first time around, Mr Dinesh Reddy was chosen the second time. According to the sources, Mr Umesh Kumar apprised the Chief Minister of the rivalry between him and the DGP, Mr Dinesh Reddy, seeking to project that the case was fabricated to settle old scores. On the other hand, the officers close to Mr Dinesh Reddy dismissed the allegations of witch hunting. "The sequence of events clearly indicates that the forgery of the signature of the Rajya Sabha MP, Mr M.A. Khan, was exposed much before Mr Dinesh Reddy became the DGP," a senior officer pointed out. It was Mr Khan who asked the state government to probe into the forgery of his signature, he added.  

Miffed Damodar Likely to Approach AICC

State deputy chief minister Damodar Raja Narasimha is miffed over being sidelined by the Kiran Kumar Reddy regime. Sources said the deputy CM is very upset over the fact that he has been completely sidelined after being appointed deputy CM. "As is the convention, he should have been given the home portfolio, but the government has not obliged him with it. Followers of the deputy CM also want his photo to figure in all official functions and posters along with that of the chief minister. Damodar will raise these issues with the AICC leaders when he meets them in New Delhi on Tuesday," said one of his aides. The deputy CM, who is in Delhi for a book release is expected to call on the central leaders after attending the function. In fact, it was a long wait for Damodar after it was announced on November 25, 2010, that a deputy CM will be appointed and that he would be the man. With his name doing the rounds, Damodar was forced to wait for several months before the appointment finally took place. "Madigas are the largest SC group, accounting for 49.2% of the total 1.24 crore SC population. Despite that, leaders from this community get a raw deal," said one of his followers. It is very likely that Damodar may even join the race for CM post, hindering chances of other contenders like Botsa Satyanarayana and Chiranjeevi. The decision to join the race for next chief minister was made at a Madiga literary function in the city last week, held in honour of poet Gurram Joshua, where the community leaders promised their support for his candidature. As part of his strategy, Damodar is planning to mobilise Madigas in a big way. "With the Telangana movement losing its steam and SC categorisation movement spearheaded by the Madigas getting stuck in Parliament, we have decided that it is time to raise the political demand for chief ministership. Till now, Madigas were divided because of the Telangana movement. Now, the situation is rife for the community to unite for a political cause," said a Madiga leader.  

Botsa's CM Ambition Comes to Fore

On the second day of his East Godawari district tour, PCC president Botsa Satyanarayana didn't make any effort to conceal his ambition to become CM in near future. In his growing ambition to project himself as chief ministerial candidate, Botsa went ahead and ensured that his followers and Congress workers left no stone unturned to raise slogans of ‘Botsa, next CM’ at every public meeting and road show he addressed. 'Mana Sattibabu', as Botsa Satyanarayana is called in this part of the state, was much delighted to find his supporters and Congress workers shouting "Botsa, next CM" at every given opportunity. Though his two-day tour did not evoke a great response from the crowds, Satyanarayana looked jubilant and went on showing the victory sign from his bus as his supporters kept him happy with 'Botsa, our new CM' or 'Botsa, next CM' slogans. Curiously, nowhere was there any mention of chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy or his mentor late YS Rajasekhar Reddy in the meetings and road shows. Even, keeping YSR out of focus totally, Botsa tried to win over the masses by stressing on the welfare programmes of the Congress government. Attacking strategically YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, the PCC chief said the YSR Congress chief was only patronizing corruption by seeking a licence to pursue his agenda from his loyalists and followers. "How can people trust a leader who is spending crores of rupees to buy legislators into resigning in support of him," he asked. He said the blackmailing tactics of the Jagan MLAs would not work. Botsa even brushed off Animal Husbandry minister P Vishwaroop, when the latter declared Thota Thrimurthulu as the Congress candidate from Ramachandrapuram in the event of a by-election, to take on Jagan loyalist MLA P Subash Chandra Bose.

Lok Pal Bills Presentation Challenged in HC

When the entire nation is jubilant with Anna Hazare's win over Government in getting the Lok Pal Bill presented in Parliament, a Delhi based advocate challenged it in the High Court. The advocate sought High Court's direction to declare the Centre's act of introducing the Lokpal Bill in Parliament early this month as unconstitutional on the grounds of breach of laid down parliamentary procedures for introduction of bills. Advocate Manohar Lal Sharma pleaded in his law suit that the government's action in introducing all Lokpal bills (government as well as private ones) are unconstitutional and be declared so. He apprised a bench of justices Vikramajit Sen and Siddharth Mridul of the lawsuit filed by him in an unscheduled hearing and pleaded to the court to give it an urgent hearing, following which the court scheduled it for hearing on September 1. The petition said the government had followed an 'unprecedented' unconstitutional procedure to draft the bill by a drafting committee, which also comprised civil society members, in addition to government representatives. The petition alleged the government introduced the bill, buckling under the pressure of civil society members and various political parties.